Physician / Researcher Bio

A recognized expert in pediatric critical care medicine with more than 25 years of experience, Dr. Nick Anas has served as director of CHOC’s pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) since 1991 and as its pediatrician-in-chief since 2009.

As director of the pediatric critical care program, Dr. Anas has built a team that treats children with acute, life-threatening illnesses and injuries. Dr. Anas has committed his career to developing and maintaining a critical care program at CHOC defined by clinical excellence, an uncompromising drive to provide state-of-the-art medicine for the children of Orange County, and a national reputation for leadership in academics and research.

Dr. Anas is a highly regarded leader who has served as a member of the CHOC Board of Directors and presently is a member of several boards, including CHOC Children's Specialists, the CHOC Health Alliance and the Orange County Ronald McDonald House. Dr. Anas is a clinical professor of pediatrics in the department of pediatrics, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and is an associate clinical professor of pediatrics at UC Irvine School of Medicine.

A nationally recognized expert in the treatment of acute respiratory failure in children, Dr. Anas is an active member in the Pediatric Acute Lung Injury and Sepsis Investigators (PALISI), an international research consortium. CHOC’s PICU is a research center for a number of clinical trials addressing issues pertinent to critical illness and injury. On the forefront of critical care education and research, Dr. Anas has more than 80 publications in prestigious medical journals and is the author and editor of several textbooks devoted to pediatric critical care. He has received numerous teaching awards from the UCI-CHOC residents and the CHOC critical care fellows.

Dr. Anas completed his critical care and pulmonary medicine fellowship training at the University of Rochester School of Medicine following his pediatric residency and chief residency training at Dallas Children's Medical Center, Southwestern School of Medicine. He received his medical degree from West Virginia University and his undergraduate education at Duke University.

Dr. Anas is a member of many professional organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the Society of Critical Care Medicine, the American Thoracic Society and the AOA Honor Medical Society. He also serves on the editorial board of “Pediatric Critical Care Medicine,” the leading journal in his discipline.

A recipient of numerous honors and awards, Dr. Anas was named the 2014 Pediatrician of the Year from the California Chapter 4 (Orange County) AAP. He is also consistently named one of Orange County’s Physicians of Excellence by the Orange County Medical Association. Dr. Anas feels a strong personal responsibility to the children and parents of Orange County. He is frequently quoted, “The responsibility of the CHOC Children’s critical care program is to make sure our parents sleep knowing that we are here to keep their children safe and in good health.”

Administrative Appointments

Pediatrician-In-Chief, CHOC Children’s

Medical Director, Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, CHOC Children’s

Chair, Critical Care Medicine, CHOC Children's

Critical Care, CHOC Children’s Specialist

Academic Appointments

Associate Clinical Professor, PediatricsUC Irvine

Clinical Professor, PediatricsDavid Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA

Education

Medical SchoolWest Virginia University, Morgantown, W Virginia

Medical School - InternPediatrics, Univ. of Texas Southwestern Medical School

Medical School - ResidentPediatrics Univ. of Texas Southwestern Medical School

FellowshipPostdoctoral Fellow in Pediatric Pulmonology and Critical Care
University of Rochester, School of Medicine, Rochester, New York

Domico M, Ridout D, Bronicki R, Anas N et al: The impact of mechanical ventilation time before initiation of extracorporeal life support on survival in pediatric respiratory failure: A review of the extracorporeal life support registry. Pediatr Crit Care Med 2012: 13:16-21.